Vanilla Malted Cookies

Just like eating really good vanilla ice cream, nothing is more satisfying than a really good vanilla cookie. This one earns high marks thanks to real vanilla bean and plain malted milk powder, a product that is best known for its milkshake partnership. Baked goods, however, take on a more intense flavor with malt as well. Look for malted milk powder in the supermarket aisle where cocoa mixes are located.
Leftover cookies (if there are any) are great for parfait recipes like the one below.
From The Christmas Cookie Cookbook (Atria Paperback, $15) by Ann Pearlman and Marybeth Bayer.

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla seeds (reserve pod for another use) and mix until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (such as Ateco #825). You can also use a large zip-lock plastic bag with ¼ inch snipped from one corner, though you won’t get the ridged pattern with just a plastic bag. Pipe 2 ½-inch-long strips or swirls onto cookie sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with colored sugar, if desired. Bake 11 to 15 minutes, until bottom edges are golden brown. Transfer cookies to cooling rack to cool.
Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Berry-Vanilla Cookie Parfait
If you have any vanilla malted cookies leftover, here is one way to recycle them into an elegant and light dessert. A friend of mine gave me a parfait recipe. I changed it only slightly to accommodate these cookies. It is a light and lovely dessert with lots of color, great for dinner parties (you can make it a couple hours ahead). The parfait works best with fresh berries. If you use frozen berries, be sure to use the juice from the thawing in the sauce.

Preparation instructions
In a medium saucepan, place 1 cup blackberries, 1 cup raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, Grand Marnier. Mash the berries with a potato masher. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, then leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and discard the solids. Cool the remaining sauce and chill. (Sauce can be made a day or two ahead.)
In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until it starts to stiffen. Add remaining sugar and beat until the cream is light and fluffy. Fold in 1 ½ cups of the crushed cookies, then fold in remaining fruit.
Divide half the whipped cream mixture into six tall, clear glasses with a wide mouth (it makes it easier to put the whipped cream into). Drizzle a layer of the berry sauce over each. Put the rest of the whipped cream mixture into the glasses and pour remaining sauce on top. Cover glasses with plastic and chill for up to 3 hours before serving. Just before serving, garnish each glass with remaining crushed cookies.
Makes 6 generous servings.